.

In the Stockton's western mansion, Maron had just arrived. She was only able to read the message that Kurumi went on ahead of her after she successfully took over the basketball club. Her previous mood turned good after she met and discovered many talented teammates so she couldn't wait to tell her cousin about it.

"Maron" the familiar voice called her after she passed by the living room stopped her on her tracks.

"Uncle Jon? Why are you home so early?" She felt a bit puzzled since he was supposed to be busy.

"I made some time to ask how your first day after transferring went" he frowned. "Looks like it didn't go as expected? I have just arrived myself and received work that Kurumi locked herself in her room again. What happened?"

Maron didn't intend to keep it a secret and told him everything that happened. Jon was a bit disturbed at how aggressive the other students of S class were but he understood their intentions. Especially the two who tried to instigate a conflict. They were quite brave children to orchestrate something like this.

Jon couldn't really interfere too much since this was a matter that involved children alone. He instead saw this as a chance for Kurumi to get used to the atmosphere. She was his only heir after all. Maron was confined with the strict rules of the Academy so she would need to find a way to deal with such people soon.

"Can you call Kurumi? I think something else should have happened for her to leave without saying a word" Jon asked one of the servants who immediately left for Kurumi's room.

"Dad…" Kurumi gloomily entered the room.

"Maron already told me most of what transpired. Can you tell me what happened after you left her to join the club?" Jon tried to comfort her by patting her head. This action made Kurumi a little gloomier because she couldn't help but remember Tomoyo who had been at the receiving end of Kazuya's patting.

"Kazuya-kun said that… we may not have been fated to get along after all…" her eyes became moist as she repeated his words.

"WHAT!?" Maron didn't expect that Kazuya would have been this cowardly to approach her cousin while she hadn't been around.

"Keep calm Maron. I want to know exactly what happened. That boy must have had a reason for this" Jon stayed calm. His knowledge about Kazuya was not limited to what these girls knew. From his understanding of him, he shouldn't have done something like this without a good reason.

"I was…" Kurumi didn't understand what happened either. She locked herself in her room trying to think about what she had done wrong aside from trying to take away Shiroyuki Tomoyo's seat. Her father was a lot smarter than her so she didn't hesitate to tell him what happened and hoped that he could tell her what she did wrong.

"So that's what happened…" Kurumi finished her story after Kazuya turned around and didn't look back at her direction even once after that. He also gave no reply after she mustered up her courage to ask him what she did wrong. Maron couldn't help but think that he had been too mean to her and wished that he was right here so she could beat him up.

"I see…" Jon sighed. He really couldn't put the blame on Kazuya after hearing what happened. Rather than being upset at him, Jon's impression of him grew more.

What happened made Jon even more convinced that he was indeed the perfect candidate to be Kurumi's friend because unlike those who coveted a connection with Kurumi and their family, Kazuya couldn't care any less and threw the potential connection without batting an eyelid. He was not like those who would pamper and cling to his daughter because of her status.

"Uncle! Ku-chan did nothing wrong! I want to beat that guy up!" Maron stomped her feet and looked at Kurumi who stared at her with eyes that didn't agree.

"No, you're wrong Maron. Kurumi only has herself to blame for this" Jon stood up and led them to his study before turning on the computer that was on his desk.

"Uncle what do you mean by that?" Maron was getting impatient and so was Kurumi who followed because she was curious about the answer.

"I applaud that boy, to be honest. He chose to be patient and show gratitude by getting along with you for two years Kurumi. I also hoped that you would be able to convince him by yourself which was why I asked his guardians for such a promise when he was at the hospital"

"What do you mean dad?" This time it was Kurumi who reacted. Maron fell silent and tried to think about what he meant.

"He gave you a chance but you failed. Simple as that. You of all people should have understood since you were with him back then but you forgot" Jon turned the screen around and played the video that reconnected the two together. He began to play it near the end when Kazuya was being stopped by Kurumi from going out.

["To an amnesiac like me, I am more sensitive to their anxiety more than anything. I can't do anything about my lost memories… All I can do is work hard so that they can accept and realize that the new me is much better than the old one"]

His words from two years ago immediately made the two girls understand what went wrong. Kurumi was indeed in the wrong. She spent two years trying to get along with him under the assumption that she had always been his friend. These words made her understand why he chose to end their connection the moment she told her why they wanted him to try visiting the basketball club.

"It was my fault…" she clenched her fists and felt guilty. The resentment she felt towards him should have been directed at herself instead.

"It's good that you understand" Jon gave his daughter a warm smile. He too felt a bit guilty since he knew that he had pampered this daughter of his too much. She needed to start learning how to understand people more so that she would be able to choose trustworthy people to accompany her in the future.

"What do I do dad? I… don't think apologizing will make things any better"

"Sorry. I already helped you solve this one problem but I have to leave it up to you to solve it. You are my daughter and it's about time I start letting you figure out and solve things on your own for the future" Jon patted her head before leaving the room. He would probably give in and help her if he saw how troubled she was so he simply left.

"!" Maron was dumbfounded. Her uncle would usually give Kurumi all the answers. She wondered what happened to him to leave Kurumi to solve her own problems.

-

Downtown, Inside one of the restaurants in an upscale hotel, a dinner between two families were taking place.

On one side was Muimina Ringo and her parents, on the other was Kurogane Suzaku accompanied by his aunt; Kurogane Nagisa. The two families started to regularly have meals like this so that they would not forget the agreement and connection that both families started with each other.

The Kurogane Conglomerate may have suffered these past two years but their influence still couldn't be denied. They were on the way back up with the help of Ringo's parents and their Corporation that had been widely been popular in the country for a couple of years now.

"How was your visit to the school today? Were both of you able to clear the misunderstanding with that Stockton girl?" Nagisa opened up a conversation. Both families suggested that they get a connection with Kurumi so that they could both clear up the past misunderstanding and potentially use that connection in the near future.

Suzaku and Ringo both frowned after being asked that question. The adults of course had not missed anything and looked at them wanting to hear their explanations.

"We were unable to get in her good graces… sorry aunt" Suzaku apologized.

"It was not that we didn't try but our approach was interrupted by people who seem to have other motives" Ringo followed up before Nagisa could speak. She knew that this person was only here because she had been the only one in the Kurogane Family that had time to spare.

That didn't stop Nagisa from doing what she wanted in the least. She would often scold Suzaku if she had the chance to which Ringo did not like. Though that was the case, she had been tasked this by higher ups of the Kurogane family so they could disrespect here because that would mean disrespecting the Kurogane family as well.

Suzaku's parents were stationed overseas to make sure that their companies products would smoothly transition without any problems but it was a slow process because they lacked the proper connections for it. Having good relations with Stockton International was beneficial for both companies since the Ringo Corporation has been eyeing the international market for some time now.

"Interrupted? Who dared intervene?" Nagisa's eyebrow twitched. She wanted to know who had been reckless enough to go against their plans.

"Aoki Takaya was the one that physically interrupted but it was Kouzuki Kazuya who was directing his actions" The two names Ringo mentioned immediately raised even her parent's attention.

"That kid…" Nagisa's frown deepened. She was still bitter over the last time she met with Kouzuki Kyouko. She was publicly shamed and ever since then, she had been assigned by the family to do errands like this so that none may be able to repeat the same insults towards them again.

"Did he do it so that he can monopolize his family's connection to them?" Ringo's father directed the question towards Suzaku. He was a bit displeased that the boy needed the help of his daughter to handle someone like Nagisa so he gave him a chance.

"I don't think that would be the case. He encouraged us to try again only… he asked us to do it in a way that Stockton Kurumi wouldn't have to get him involved. He didn't give Ringo any face even after knowing who she was and even threatened both of us and our families to not think about ever going against him" Suzaku clenched his fist and played the part. He wanted to deal with Kazuya but it would be better do it with the help of Ringo's family.

"Is this true Ringo?" her father asked her with an eyebrow raised. He knew about the feud between the two families so it and he already suspected that Suzaku was trying to use them to help them with their revenge.

"Yes. He said that he doesn't care even if both families team up. That boy even said that as long as our family doesn't involve their little princess, Stockton International wouldn't move a finger to help them if ever we decided to go against the Kouzuki family ourselves" Ringo confirmed and followed up with what Suzaku said. She was also displeased with what happened earlier so they changed the warning into a threat.

"What an arrogant kid" Ringo's father was rather displeased. Their family may not have been one of the oldest and most reputable but he was proud that he would be able to stand on par with them if it came to current prestige.

"Like mother like son it seems" Nagisa chided in. "He sure can talk just because that little girl was unlucky enough to be involved in the last incident. To not know his place truly is like that shameless mother of his"

"I have to disagree" Ringo's mother who had been silent all this time spoke up. "I find the boy interesting and think that his words are more of a warning than a threat" she looked at Suzaku directly in the eyes which startled the boy. "Suzaku-kun did mention that Kouzuki Kazuya said 'if' we think about going against him"

"He's still a cocky little brat. What does he know? He's but a kid who still has milk on his lips" Unlike his wife, the father was definitely displeased at what Kazuya had said.

"Don't do it dear. He is the heir of the Kouzuki Family. Although we may not fear them, the sheer backlash of going against them will not bode well for us since we do have collaborations with companies that have close ties with their family through Kouzuki Kou"

"Hmph! I'll just make sure that his Kouzuki family won't ever have two feet over the line in the technological industry" his declaration put a smile on Nagisa's face. The son Kyouko was so proud of just ended up crippling her chances of expanding her business even more.

It was thanks to the Muimina family that the Kurogane family had a smooth transition to the technology industry. Through their cooperation, it was mostly because of Ringo Corporation's efforts that Kyouko had been stuck in her current progress right now. Kazuya was aware of this that was why he did not hesitate to tell Ringo that he was not afraid of going against them.

"Speaking of which, how do you plan on dealing with them?" Nagisa wanted to hear more so that she would be prepared the next time she met with Kyouko.

"I'm eyeing a few companies that have been growing these past few years. After acquiring some of them, I plan on integrating the innovations they made and make it exclusive to Ringo Corporations products"

"That would be a great idea. I use your products so I am interested in what new features you will be adding to your products" Nagisa flattered. She didn't even remember if what she was using was one of Ringo Corporation's cell phones or computers.

"One of them was featured on the news lately. That AI character that is going to be released soon. That company focuses on things that were never considered but they are surprisingly popular"

"Oh? Which company is it?"

"It's a new company that has been around for about a year or two. Kazuno Technologies is what I believe it's called"

.